| | | | Saying that the US was keen to work in co-operation with Turkey in Iraq, Rumsfeld said that Ankara and Washington shared the same determination about bringing the operations in Iraq to a successful conclusion.
Describing Turkey as a long term ally of the US, Rumsfeld he believed that the Turkish government would decide to commit troops to the peacekeeping force in Iraq.
The Turkish government has yet to formally respond to a US request to send up to 10,000 troops to Iraq, with negotiations continuing over a number of contentious issues, including where any Turkish forces would be stationed and the command structure under which they would operate. | |
